I Spend Quality Time With a Fox
by Hunter of Artemis 01
Summary: Set two weeks after Percy & Annabeth's one month anniversary trip to Paris. Annabeth has decided it was by time Percy should have met her dad and her step-mom. But can the monsters leave them alone for one night? Pure Percabeth! One-Shot


**Hey guys! You might have read this story before, as I uploaded before on my other profile, but I locked myself out of that, so I'm posting all my old stories on this and posting new ones! So carry on reading! Oh and please review. It means a lot to me, even if it is just to correct a typo, thanks! :) **

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I stood nervously outside on the Chase's doorstep as Annabeth did her inspection. Tonight, she was going to introduce me to her parents. I already told her too many times not to make a big deal of it, and that I had already met her parents before, but she just ignored me. When something wrong in my appearance caught her attention, she would fix it immediately, ignoring my protests.

Once she thought that my clothes were perfect, she turned to my head and her eyes narrowed when she spotted the condition that my hair was in. She rustled in her hand bag for a brush, and I caught the gleam of the Celestial Bronze of her dagger. _We're both armed,_ I noticed, fiddling with the pen form of Riptide in my pocket. _She must be wary that a monster or god might come. _Finally, she drew a comb and made an attempt of brushing my hair.

"Ouch, Annabeth," I grumbled. "You're pulling my hair off." Annabeth had her tongue between her teeth as she tried to flatten the mess of black locks.

"Gods, Percy." She muttered, giving the comb a sudden yank, causing me to shake my head. "Sorry! But really, when was the last time you brushed your hair." I had to think about that question for a second before answering.

"March, last year." I confirmed after a moment or two of hesitation. Annabeth sighed exasperatedly.

"See? You're ruining my dad and step-mom first impressions of you already. They will take one look at you, Perseus Jackson, and they will send you packing down the street. Why do you always do this?"

I turned to look at her, pulling the comb out of her hands. I tried for a reassuring smile, but I think it came out as more of a grimace.

"I've _already_ met your parents Wise Girl. They seem cool." I shrugged. "What could go wrong?"

She stamped her foot impatiently.

"Everything Percy. Everything could go wrong. You could set my dad on fire. You could stab one of my step-brothers in the hand. You could push over my step-mom and most likely, a monster could come and attack us, seeking revenge for what our godly parents did 3000 years ago. And anyways," She added before I could reply. "You've only met my parents as my friend. Not my _boy_friend. They might not like you now."

She groaned in frustration hit the top of my head with her hand, ignoring the best 'Puppy-Dog Face' I could muster directed at her.

"I can't deal with this right now. Go wash your hair Percy."

I grinned as a stream of water floating in the air came from a garden hose from the house next to the Chase's. My head became engulfed in the cool liquid as it made a ball of flowing water. I raised my eyebrows at her, my grin widening as she gave me a look that was kinda like: _Yes Percy I know there's a ball of water floating around your head, and no I'm not impressed._

Annabeth checked her reflection in the miniature mirror that she had inside her hand bag while this was happening. Annabeth always looked cute, but tonight she looked exceptionally beautiful. She was wearing a black dress that came down to her lower thighs, and she was wearing mascara on the eyelashes of her intelligent grey eyes and a touch of red lipstick. She was wearing no jewellery aside from her camp necklace and her owl earrings, which she wore everywhere. Her long honey-blonde hair was wavy and down from her usual pony tail. She caught me looking at her and her expression turned alarmed.

"What?" She asked me. "Is there something on my back?" She tried to look around her but ended up making a 360 deggree turn. '_You look beautiful,' _I tried to tell her, but I remembered too late that my head was still covered in water so it sounded more like '_Glub, glub, glub.' _She rolled her eyes and told me to get rid of the water ball. I did what she asked.

"Okay," she said softly, gripping the comb so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. "I'm going to try this again. If I can't get it right, who cares? It's not like its the end of the world." Her eyes told a different story as she went to brush my hair again. I knew Annabeth was a perfectionist, but it was one of the things I loved best about her.

I closed my eyes, expecting pain, but surprisingly, the comb slid through my dark hair easily. She sighed in relief and kept brushing.

There" she said proudly, like it was one of the worlds greatest achievements to be able to smooth down my hair. "All better. Now go and dry your hair quickly. We're going inside in two minutes and your hair_ better_ be dry by then, Seaweed Brain!" She kissed my cheek and when back to checking her reflection, re-applying her lipstick.

I willed all the unnecessary water that was still clinging to my hair to disappear and in less than a moment my hair was dry, but not uncomfortably dry. I tapped Annabeth's shoulder and gestured that I was ready when she made an impatient noise. She drew a Kleenex out of her hand bag and wiped my cheek clean so there was no lip mark and stuffed it back into her bag. She opened the door and we stepped inside.

"Dad?" She called, shutting the front door. They were in a brightly lit hall with a stairs leading off to the left and Lego bits strewn around the floor. "We're here!"

Just as soon as Annabeth called, two small figures came around the doorway and hurtled themselves at her. She smiled as she bent down to hug her two younger step-brothers.

"Bobby, Mathew. I missed you guys." She told them affectionately while she ruffled their hair. "This is Percy."

I smiled awkwardly at them. "Hey guys." I greeted. "I'm Annabeth's-." I was interrupted by one of the twins that had decided that he would kick my shin. I tried not to yelp in pain. He was surprisingly strong. The boy glared up at me.

"Look mister." He said, crossing his arms and shooting me dagger looks. "I don't know what your intentions are with my sister, but if you hurt her, you will have to explain yourself to me"

"And me," The other boy added poisonously.

"And m.," Came a familiar voice from further up the hallway. I looked up and saw Dr Chase smiling at us, leaning against the door frame that lead into the kitchen. "I do apologize for my sons' behavior, Percy." Dr Chase said, eyes twinkling. He earned an outrageous look from both seven year old's, that he ignored, and went to embrace his daughter and then shake my hand.

"Don't mention it." I told him. "Small people in general never seemed to like me in particular." I winked down at Mathew and Bobby as Annabeth grabbed my hand and lead me into a dining room.

There was a long mahogany table in the middle of the room with six chairs around it. In the corner was a bookshelf with history books on every war you could name. I smiled at Mrs. Chase as I passed her and went to sit beside Annabeth. Dr Chase and Mrs Chase both sat at each end of the table, and Matthew and Bobby sat opposite Annabeth and I. Annabeth grasped my hand under the table and I knew she was nervous. She had been fretting this day for weeks. I gave her hand a squeeze as Mrs Chase set down a plate full of chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, broccoli, and carrots, all of which were covered in gravy. I thanked Mrs Chase and waited until everyone received their dinners and started eating until I dug in.

"So Percy," Dr Chase began. "Where are you attending school?"

I quickly swallowed down my mouthful of peas. "I'm attending Goode High School, sir. My step-father is a professor there."

Dr Chase nodded thoughtfully. "And what subject does he have a degree in?"

Before I had time to answer, the wall exploded.

Mathew and Bobby screamed in pure terror. I quickly jumped out of my seat and scanned the room to see if anyone was hurt, and my stomach lurched when I saw that Mrs Chase, who had been sitting the closest to the wall, was limp. Even before the debris stopped falling or the dust cleared, Anaklusmos was in my hand. The Celestial Bronze blade lighted the room and I sensed the monster before I saw it. Without turning my back to the gaping hole in the side of the house, I lifted a startled Annabeth up from the ground with one arm. She had a trickle of blood flowing down her face, where a chunk of debris had hit her head. I knew I was injury free, because I still bore the Curse of Achilles. I met didn't meet her eyes, but I knew she was looking at me.

"Take you brothers, dad and step-mom outta here." I told her softly, my eyes never leaving the hole. "They're in too much danger if they try and fight . When you get them to safety, I'll need you to tell me what's the name of this monster and how do we kill it." I didn't hear her go, but I knew from the sound of something heavy being pulled that she was dragging Mrs Chase first. (Not saying that Mrs Chase is heavy, I'm just describing what it sounded like!)

I raised Riptide and ventured out into the cool night. I turned toward the orchard and waited. I sighed, suddenly tired and glanced up to the stars, checking to make sure the thing wasn't on the roof. I was wrong, it wasn't on the roof. It towered above the top of the house. Two gleaming yellow eyes glared down at me. The unbelievably gigantic fox bared its teeth before lunging. I dodged the strike and tried to run up the monster's leg, kill it on his back, but tt was impossibly fast. Faster than anything or one I came up against. I felt Annabeth's beside me, though I couldn't see her, and I knew she had her New York Yankee's invisibility cap on.

"What is that thing?" I asked her in awe. This fox was deadly but he was kinda cute. I always had a soft spot for foxes, and I didn't want to kill this one. I remembered when I was young, I ran around Central Park, hoping to catch sight of a fox. Now I just wanted to play fetch with him and pet him and name him Fluffy. But I doubt he'd let me do that without tearing me to shreds first.

"The Cadmean Vixen." She said it with such authority, I had no doubt that she was correct (as she usually always was). Well except for one thing maybe…

"He's a girl?" I asked incredulously. Annabeth sighed irritably.

"What? You think that just because it's fast doesn't mean it can be a girl? How sexist is that? Of course it's a girl! What made you think it wasn't?"

"Well," I said, completely flushed. "What's that then?"

"That, seaweed brain," Annabeth smirked. "Is her tail."

At this time I was really red but before I could reply, Fluffy the vixen lunged again. Me and Annabeth both had to leap in opposite directions to avoid being made into fox chow.

"How do we kill it?" I yelled at her, both of us failing to get close to the thing.

"We can't." She shouted back, waving her dagger at the thing.

"It's one of Echidna's children. It was destined never to be caught. It only managed to die 3000 years ago because Laelaps, a hound that was destined to never fail catch what he was hunting was sent after it. Even then, Laelaps didn't even to manage catch it. Zeus was getting tired of watching them run around the world in an endless chase, that he decided to turn them into stone and cast them into the stars." Her eyes narrowed. "I just wished that everything in Greek Mythology that was supposed to die, _stayed_ dead. But no. Apparently that's too much to ask for."

She sounded so bitter, that I wanted to hug her. Instead we just kept advancing towards the thing, but it outwitted us and came up behind. Annabeth and I were losing energy fast, and my belly had started to grumble. Then I had an idea. I whistled loud and clear, and waited.

A few moments later Mrs O'Leary burst through the orchards and snarled at Fluffy. I whistled again to catch her attention before she decided to have a go at the beast, but the hellhound caught sight of me and lumbered over. She gave me a slobbery kiss before I whispered in Mrs O' Leary's ear while Annabeth distracted the fox.

My pet turned around and vanished through darkness and I hoped she would make it back in time. I looked over and saw Annabeth was getting closer to the vixen and I was about to cheer when I saw the monster's back arch, backing up. It was leading Annabeth into a trap. I sprinted towards them hoping I wouldn't be too late. The Cadmean Vixen launched itself at Annabeth, and I heard someone yell her name.

I collided with Annabeth, pushing her out of the way before the gigantic beast's paws landed on me. The pain was excruciating. Every inch of my body was screaming. I wanted desperately to black out, but I knew if I did, Annabeth and her family would be doomed. With all the strength I could muster, I started pushing up against the tons of flesh. I kept pushing until I realized that it was actually making a difference. I got on one knee, trying to bear the weight. I couldn't see anything, and I was losing strength rapidly. But I couldn't give up. Not yet. Finally, I pushed up one last time and Fluffy was pushed off her feet and sent stumbling into the trees. I gasped for breath and blinked out the red spots that were dancing in my eyes. I felt Riptide return to my pocket, though I couldn't remember dropping it.

I glanced over at the Fluffy and suddenly, I was filled with adrenaline. I charged the thing. I don't remember what happened then when I came close, but I do remember leaving a few good size scratches on the poor creature's legs. It yelped, which at first I thought was from pain, but I turned around to see Mrs O'Leary with a bloodhound that was so huge that it made Cerberus look like a French Poodle.

It growled a deep sound that chilled my bones, and set off after Fluffy, who fled once she caught sight of Mrs O'Leary's new friend. Mrs O'Leary barked playfully and bounded off with Laelaps, not one to miss out on her first hunting lesson._ Today: a fox, Tomorrow: a satyr._

All of the sudden I thought of Annabeth, and my heart lurched. I felt terrible. I hadn't even checked to see if she was alright before I threw myself at the vixen. I turned around, about to sprint back to the house, when a streak of yellow met the corner of my eye and someone hit against me.

I looked down at Annabeth who was hugging me fiercely. I kissed her forehead before taking her shoulders and inspecting her for any injuries, like she had done to me for something completely different not so long ago. She rolled her eyes at me, but I saw that she was also checking me for any major scratches or bruises, but of course, there was none. A smile tugged at her lips as she pulled me into the embrace again. When she pulled away, I was about to state about how this is probably Mrs O'Leary's favorite adventure when she punched me.

She glared up at me like she couldn't believe I had the nerve to push her away and get crushed by a giant fox and punched me again. I rubbed my arm unconsciously and knew I should have expected this from Annabeth, though that didn't keep me from sticking my tongue out at her."

"Percy."

I looked and found Dr Chase staring at me dumbfounded. His clothes were in ruins, and his goggles were broken in half. I didn't have the heart staring him in the eye after destroying his dining room, so I kept my eyes on the ground and mumbled something real intelligent like " My bad."

"You just killed the monster that destroyed my dining room."

I looked up at the Doctor and saw him smiling crazily like he'd just after witnessing a murder and liked it. I didn't know what to say so I asked him was Mrs Chase alright. He waved his hand casually as if his wife just sustained a paper cut instead of a severe concussion.

"And saved Annabeth from being crushed." He repeated.

I felt myself go red, though I have no idea why.

"It was nothing," I told him truthfully. "I would have done it any day. The 'saving Annabeth' thing, not the 'killing the monster who destroyed your house' though I _do_ do that on a daily basis too. "

He laughed and put his hand on my shoulder. "Any man that would give up his own life for my daughter's is worthy enough to date." He announced, his brown eyes sparkling. He nodded to his daughter. Annabeth laughed and went to hug her dad. I just stood there awkwardly fiddling with Riptide in pen form. Dr Chase broke off the embrace and said something to Annabeth about checking if the twins were alright. She nodded like she only half heard him, her eyes on me.

After he entered the hole in the side of the house, Annabeth flung herself on me. I was too surprised to do anything but kiss her back. She broke off and smiled brightly up at me.

"He likes you."

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "I guess he does."

Annabeth pulled my hand into hers and we walked back towards the house. There was a chunk missing out of her house, her dining room was ruined, her step-brothers were probably scarred for life, he step-mom was concussed, her hair that she spent hours working on was ruined, her dress was in tatters and her make-up was smudged. Annabeth who probably should be in shock after what had happened instead turned towards me and said:

"I don't think that could have possibly turned out better."


End file.
